Storm Snochi is almost outta here, save for some lingering snow showers mainly east of town through around midnight. That makes this the last update to this live blog.

So go out and shovel if you haven’t, but even when you’re done, you may want to keep that shovel handy. Believe it or not, we’ve got a chance of a little more snow Friday night into midday Saturday. See more details in our latest post on the main Capital Weather Gang blog, and remember to watch out for icy spots tomorrow morning.

Snow Potential Index: 6/10 (↓) Energetic system Fri night into Sat could lead to another measurable snowfall, but not a slam dunk setup.

This storm is finally fading away for the D.C. area, with snow starting to dwindle as seen in the radar loop below, though still hanging on for a bit in the eastern half of the region.

As the snow fizzles, we now turn our attention to temperatures falling to lows in the mid-to-upper 20s, and a Friday that may not see temperatures above freezing until late morning, or even around noontime for some of the colder north and west suburbs.

Hourly temperatures next 24 hours for Washington, D.C. (NWS)

So yes, plan for some slipping and sliding if you must head out in the morning.

With the snow finally showing signs of coming to an end, it’s clear that many spots beat expectations by at least a few inches. The National Weather Service is out with a new list of snow totals. Most are old reports from earlier in the day before the second round. But below I pulled a few that are all from no earlier than 7 p.m. Look at some of these numbers!…

During the last two to three hours, snow bands dropping occasionally moderate to heavy precipitation have been swinging through the immediate D.C. area. Reports from this activity thus far range from as little as a dusting in spots still just above freezing to about 3 inches. Some folks even more than that, mainly to the east and northeast of downtown.

It’s almost over, especially the further west you live. The final edge of snow should push toward D.C. by around 10 p.m. or so, and shift east thereafter.

Watch live radar, let us know how much you have seen this evening, and tell us when it ends at your location over on the main CWG blog.

Thanks to the new round of snow moving through this evening, WMATA has shut down bus service until early tomorrow morning. Buses will resume at 5 a.m. with limited lines in operation. Important details below.

Metrobus service will remain suspended until 5 a.m. Friday. Starting at 5 a.m., Metro will run limited bus service on major arteries, similar to this afternoon’s service.

The following routes are expected to have limited service, if conditions permit:

Mesoanalysis of the northeast this evening showing the location of the surface low pressure. (Storm Prediction Center)

The heaviest snow bands are beginning to shift east of I-95 overall, but snow is still flying everywhere at this time. In the last hour, our strong low pressure system was located just offshore southern New Jersey.

With a central pressure of ~986mb, the storm is about as strong (if not quite as snowy) as well known ones in the past like Snowmageddon in 2010.

It’s also a beauty on satellite. Note the comma head over the D.C. area:

(NASA)

Generally, as a storm gets north of our latitude the snow threat begins to diminish fairly quickly. We’ll see that occur over the next few hours.

Vigorous snow bands currently pushing through the region are being enhanced by a powerful mid-level storm swinging by to our south and southeast. It is interacting with the surface low off the coast. The dynamics are helping to create another round of lightning in the area this evening, with some reports of thundersnow.

This activity should remain isolated but is always very interesting to see!

It’s not quite the overall intensity seen last night, but snow is now falling moderately to heavily in parts of the area as the grand finale of this storm reaches its local peak.

If you’re way west, out near the Blue Ridge and west, the back edge is already approaching. That will continue to push east, but may still take a few hours. Radar trends and short-range models continue to indicate snow should end by the 10-11 p.m. period as shown in the latest HRRR radar simulation at 11 p.m.:

(Weatherbell.com)

Even into the city, roads are picking up additional accumulation following today’s melting.

A good portion of the area saw temperatures rise at least a little past freezing today, helping snow melt off and causing slushy passageways as well as numerous puddles. With snowfall picking back up over the area, temperatures have fallen to within a few degrees of freezing most spots.

Temperatures across the area during the 6 p.m. hour. (Weather Underground’s WunderMap)

While the temperature drop will be quite slow for the remainder of the event, re-icing is already going on across a good part of the area, particularly I-95 and northwest. Temperatures may more or less hover near where they are through the finish as seen in the 11 p.m. forecast from the NAM weather model below.

However, once the storm begins to pull away, cooler and drier air will filter into the area more readily, sending temperatures down more substantially in the post midnight period. In the 2 a.m. NAM forecast below, significantly colder air is seen streaming in from the west.

..HEAVY SNOW TO IMPACT AREAS EAST OF BLUE RIDGE INCLUDING THE GREATER METROPOLITAN AREAS OF WASHINGTON AND BALTIMORE THROUGH MIDNIGHT…

AREAS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW WILL IMPACT THE REGION THROUGH MIDNIGHT…WHERE 2 TO 4 INCHES OF NEW SNOWFALL ACCUMULATION CAN BE EXPECTED AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. AT 600 PM…MOST LOCATIONS HAVE TRANSITIONED TO ALL SNOW AFTER THE SLEET AND RAIN FROM EARLIER IN THE AFTERNOON.

THE AREAS OF HEAVIEST SNOWFALL WILL OCCUR ALONG AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 95…AND ALSO IN HOWARD AND CARROLL COUNTIES IN MARYLAND.

THIS ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL WILL MAKE TRAVEL HAZARDOUS AS ROADS WILL ONCE AGAIN BECOME SNOW COVERED. VISIBILITIES WILL BE LOWERING TO BELOW 1/4 MILE AT TIMES…SO TRAVEL IS NOT ADVISED UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.

The snow is falling steadily and starting to stick, especially along and east of I-95 where the rate of snowfall is the heaviest. The way it looks now, it would appear areas right along I-95 could get around 1-3 additional inches before this ends (probably between 10 and 11 p.m.), locations east of I-95 2-4″, and west of I-95 1-2″.

In a way, perhaps, the storm’s closing act is trying to even out the snow distribution. Whereas the heaviest snow overnight and this morning west of I-95, this end-game band is favoring the I-95 corridor and especially locations just to the east.

Radar view around 5:20 p.m. (RadarScope)

As the snow is falling, temperatures are edging back towards the freezing mark, so roads will be turning slick again this evening. This snow is likely to continue for the next few hours, with accumulations 1 to 4 inches.

Whereas we had earlier said we favored western zones for more snow, it’s looking like areas along and just east of I-95 have the best chance of picking up a few inches.

The very heavy band of precipitation south of the District, which may contain thunder, is heading north. Reports are that it’s initially a mixed bag of sleet and rain but transitions to more snow as time wears on. Rain and sleet changed back to snow in Richmond.

The upper level disturbance swinging through the region is quite vigorous and profiles of the atmosphere show it be unstable. As such, thunder may well accompany some of the bands of snow and sleet coming through.

Radar at 4:00 p.m. (RadarScope)

Just like summer thunderstorms, determining exactly who gets hit hardest is difficult. But radar shows areas of convection (fancy word for thunderstorms) north of Bowie in northern Prince George’s and northwest Anne Arundel counties – several reports of thunder have come in from around Laurel and Greenbelt.

Reports of sleet have started to reach the metro area as the storm’s final wave lifts north.

In the immediate metro region, precipitation will almost certainly begin as a mix, but should gradually transition to snow towards dark. Some thunder cannot be ruled out. CWG’s winter weather expert Wes Junker says the atmosphere may well be unstable.

The NAM model tracks the heaviest precipitation from this disturbance through the metro region. On the other hand, the HRRR and RAP (high resolution) models forecasts the heaviest just east of town. It’s very difficult to say for sure where the most precipitation will fall, but – based on radar trends – I’m leaning just east of I-95.

Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.

To pause and restart automatic updates, click "Live" or "Paused". If paused, you'll be notified of the number of additional comments that have come in.

Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.

Spam

Offensive

Disagree

Off-Topic

Among the criteria for featured comments: likes by users, replies by users, previous history of valuable commenting, and selection by moderators.